"Every girl in the five boroughs of New York City deserves a chance to reach her full potential ... "

Cookie selling season is one of the most exciting times of the year for Girl Scouts — but this year is especially remarkable for Troop 6000. The troop was formed to exclusively serve girls in the New York City Shelter System. Troop leaders hoped to instill courage, confidence, character, consistency, and community by forming the troop. Troop 6000 now has hundreds of girls ages 5 to 17.

The logistics of selling and delivering cookies is a challenge for Girl Scouts who live in homeless shelters. It's more difficult for them to store, transport, and safely deliver their cookies due to their transient living situations.

So, leaders at the Girl Scouts of Greater New York worked with Little Brownie Bakers, a division of the Kellogg Company, which bakes all the cookies for the organization, to find a solution.

This week, their hard work has paid off. Troop 6000 got the opportunity to hold their very first cookie sale in a booth at Kellogg's NYC Cafe in the Union Square area. The area is frequented by both tourists and New Yorkers alike.

The space allows girls to safely sell their their cookies, raise money for their troop, and connect with one another. Through cookie sales, the girls are learning customer service skills, how to manage and budget money, and how to reach goals.

"Research has shown that Girl Scout alumnae have a stronger sense of self, achieve higher levels of education, and are more likely to reach a higher socio-economic status," Girl Scouts of Greater New York's website says. "Every girl in the five boroughs of New York City deserves a chance to reach her full potential: to have her eyes opened to possibilities for college and careers, to make loving and supportive friends, to learn from caring female mentors, and to chart her own course to achieve her goals. That's what Troop 6000 is all about."

The troop's goal is to sell 12,000 boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, S'mores, and other coveted cookies by the end of the weekend. You can help them reach it by purchasing Girl Scout cookies at the Kellogg's NYC Cafe in NYC on Friday, Apr. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m., and on Saturday, Apr. 14, between 2 and 4 p.m. You can also you donate directly to the troop through the Girls Scouts' website.